I am new to this forum so sorry if I post anything dodgy. I will also try to be as clear as I can

I have recently come into the possession of a Dell Dimension 3000 as it is a friends who is wanting some help.

When I received the desktop I found that they had been using Wintenals ERD 2005 as there OS. I therefore started by trying to install windows xp on the HDD. When I did so the initial setup went fine until it asks me to partition my HDD as the format is not accepted for windows xp. However when I put in an amount to partition the hard drive the screen just reverts back to the screen showing the unpartitioned space. This is the same for any number that I enter.
I then decided to try ubuntu seeing as it is free and is relatively easy to install. however when I tried this it comes up with an error saying that it is unable to create the ext4 partition #1 or something (sorry I will try and get the exact statement)

I am not sure if the issue is me being stupid or if the hard drive is dead or something weird but if any of you lovely people could help then I would greatly appreciate it

Firstly wow! Thank you for the prompt replies. Now down to business. Sorry I may sound like a complete simpleton but how do I revert it back to its factory settings? and secondly where is the hidden partition?
Other than that thank you, you guys are great!

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